Michigan

[chicken grandma]

Ha Ha! Thanks Muttsfan!
I just saw that it is going to be 17 degrees on Friday night/Saturday a.m. YIKES!

Edit - my young Isa's are just 3 months. They have been in the coop for 2 months now but have needed the light so far. They feel like feathers and bones to me, not plump in any way.......

 

[fuzzybutt love]

All my roos so far have been EE, and it seems like there are more people who say they're agressive than not. I know it's probably to do with what they're crossed with... what kinds of roos would any of you recommend? I am trying to create a particular style of EE for my personal flock. I will need to integrate another roo in at some point, as i don't want to inbreed. I am leaning towards Favorelles or cochins. I want to work with the lavendar, and i think a brown/tinted egg layer. I want my birds to be gentle lap buddies. I never want to have another bird like George. He always was skittish and slightly feral. My plucky was best buds with the boys when they were little, it wasn't until George turned on him he started atacking, so i think if i get a roo chick and raise him with the girl chicks i hatch i should be good.
I don't put a lamp in my camper coop. they hang out in the window during the day to sun, and in the evening they go down to the other end to roost. They seem to take it all in stride. I tried the lamp for a little bit last year, but they didn't use it and seemed to find 101 ways to mess with it. I put saddles on my girls in case plucky roo got any bright ideas; i don't want their feathers ruined! They seem to like them and treat them like little blankies. My neighbor's hen that i adopted was used to running free, and used the fence to roost on, shunning all their attempts to make a house for her! So i don't think cold bothers them as much as us.

 

[taprock]

Last year I was very worried about my chickens and the cold. I just putting a regular 75 watt bulb in above their main roosts, like others to make myself feel less worried. No one ever really used it except for the two storms were it got about -20 and I ended up with a snow drift in the middle of the coop. Nice east wind blew it in under the ridge cap. The only damage was a guinea who frost bit and lost a toe. She was in the eaves and refused to move and ended up roosting on a spot that was iced up. My eaves are closed off this year so I hope for no repeats. I did plug in my heated dog dish today although the water was not frozen last night, it was about 27 degrees last night. I have a regular light bulb out there now, chained and zip tied in place just for the light. If it does get super cold I'll go move it where they can enjoy some heat.

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

fuzzybut, I would love to see your camper coop. I am working on one to put my BR's in. Ummm, well, my son and DH are working on it

Delawares are usually a nice, in your face, cuddle me breed. And bred with EE, they make delaweggers. My youngest Del boy is 10 weeks old and is always running up to me for cuddles.

 

[RaZ]

Since we are talking about our own peace of mind, I'd like to know how many of us have a fire extinguisher in the coop or garage or even your kitchen for that matter? Smoke detectors are cheap, how about one for the coop and garage?

Making sure that your water heater, heat lamp and light fixtures are secure shouldn't have to be mentioned but a reminder can't hurt. (I just stowed an extension cord that I was using temporarily -- for the last 3 weeks! I forgot about it.)

 

[M.sue]

Raz.....We have extinguishers in the garage, kitchen & basement. Smoke/carb detectors throughout the house. If my coop was to catch on fire...heaven forbid....I'd have to run like a bat out H E Double picks to get one! Good point. Now that is on my must get list. I'll store it in the shed! Thanks

 

[fuzzybutt love]

Quote:

It's not anything super, yet, but it is dry and cozy in there. I am in process of gutting it, because it was leaking before i started. I sealed the roof and put a tarp on it for insurance. I want to replace the wood walls with something washable, but we'll see. I work on it a little at a time as the money is available. The upside is that it can move with me wherever i go; the downside is that it is prone to heat in the summer and moisture in the air in the winter. To combat the heat i parked it in a shady spot. it only gets direct sun mabie for 3 hours. To combat the moisture i crack the roof vents. I do not have a fenced spot just for the chickens, but when they free range i am with them and when i need a break they go in with the goats who have a 10 foot fence. For perches i put one across the back in the window nook where the bed used to be. I have 2 2x4's about a foot from each other on a short brace that is screwed into the flimsy 2x2 s that are in the wall. Under that i have hung a piece of fencing to use as a "poop board" I put empty feed bags down, then cover with newspaper. that way i can pick up the paper by the bag if it's wet. This helps a lot with cutting down on floor droppings; i used fencing so they can dry and to discourage them from walking on it. the double perch idea was after watching the whole row of girls have to jump down to let one hen pass. Now they can just hop over a little. The old bathroom serves well as a place to store feed and stuff i don't want them getting. I left in the fridge as a possible place to store fertile eggs; i can adust the temp to be what they need.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

The green wasn't supposed to be quite this shocking, but i wanted it to reflect my "earth momma" vibe (That's what my dad calls it)
There were more flowers but the frost took them. This was supposed to be a "city meets country" kinda setup. I wanted to do the logo in brick, but there was a little bit of pink in a can, so...

If you can't tell i like girlie artsy stuff. But i'm totally in the dirt with my girls! We garden together in the summer. I was told you gotta use special paint for this kind of metal, so i bought porch paint, which ended up to be $30, but so far has not cracked. We'll see with winter.....

 

[fuzzybutt love]

 

[M.sue]

Love the Camper Coop...Great idea and you can move it if you need too!!!